Click here to read the full lawsuit filed by Kelly Merrill and Adam Crotty against the town of Townsend, former Police Chief Robert Eaton and former Sgt. Randy Girard.

WORCESTER -- Two Townsend residents filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging police violated state law and their constitutional rights by accessing and disseminating the residents' background information

Kelly Merrill, who was hired last fall as the town administrator's assistant, and boyfriend Adam Cotty are suing the town of Townsend, former Police Chief Robert Eaton and former Police Sgt. Randy Girard. Attorney Timothy Burke filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Worcester.

All three defendants face allegations of wrongful dissemination of Criminal Offender Record Information. Eaton and Girard face further allegations of invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of constitutional rights. The complaint demands a trial by jury.

The matter has created tension in Townsend for months. The town's legal counsel was assigned to investigate allegations that police improperly conducted background checks. Girard resigned during the investigation. Eaton was fired in April on allegations related to his role in the issue.

Both former police employees are being sued in both their individual and official capacities, according to the complaint. Eaton did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday. A call placed to a number listed for Girard was not returned Wednesday.

In the complaint, Merrill and Cotty allege that police employees were watching a Board of Selectmen meeting on television in September when the board discussed Merrill's appointment to be Town Administrator James Kreidler's assistant.

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Referencing an investigation town counsel conducted, the complaint alleged that Girard instructed a dispatcher to run a Board of Probation query on Merrill because he was "upset" at her appointment and felt the town did not check her background sufficiently.

The state Department of Criminal Justice Information Services, which oversees the system used, later found that the check "was initiated for no official criminal justice purpose," according to a letter Commissioner James Slater sent to the police chief in February.

The query came back negative, the complaint alleged. A few weeks later, Girard allegedly ran another Board of Probation check on Cotty, and provided the results of both to the chief.

"At that time, Chief Eaton knew or should have known that illegal CJIS queries had been run on the Plaintiffs by members of his department for no legitimate police purpose, but rather in an attempt to have Ms. Merrill's employment with the Town terminated and to embarrass members of the Town's Administration for hiring her ... Chief Eaton failed to disclose the improper use of the CJIS system by Sgt. Girard," the complaint alleged.

Eaton allegedly defended the checks, telling town counsel police were permitted to run them and that "the ends justify the means," according to the complaint. In October, he allegedly disseminated the plaintiffs' confidential background information to one or more selectmen, n hoping to have the board revoke Merrill's hiring, the complaint stated.

Town officials ordered town counsel to investigate, a decision Eaton publicly slammed in February. He was placed on paid administrative leave hours later, and fired about two months later.

The complaint alleges that information from the background checks was "maliciously" disseminated to the public by Eaton, Girard or other police employees, causing it to appear on social media including some of the town's Facebook groups, in an attempt to "inflict further emotional distress and embarrassment" on the plaintiffs.

As a result, the complaint said, "salacious and malicious" comments and videos were posted alleging, among other things, "that Ms. Merrill had a criminal history, was dealing in drugs, referring to Ms. Merrill as a 'crack whore' who allegedly met Town Administrator Kreidler at a Methadone clinic."

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